Angry Sky, Bright Earth
by ChirpChirp1827
Summary: Xanxus sat in the Varia mansion with liquor in his hands and shouts on his lips. Enma ran around the Shimon's territory trying to keep everything under control and his panic buried in his chest. They were together, linked without description or a way to separate. X00 Drabble Series!
1. Ambiguous

**DISCLAIMER: NEITHER XANXUS, ENMA KOZATO, OR ANYTHING ELSE YOU MAY RECOGNIZE BELONGS TO ME.**

 **Angry Sky, Bright Earth**

* * *

 **Abandonment**

The thing is they've never really had a conversation about what is happening between them.

There was never an awkward period where they tiptoed around each other, nervous of rejection. There was never a confession. There was never a moment where they had to speak to each about whether they were together or not.

It was simply a fact one day.

Xanxus sat in the Varia mansion with liquor in his hands and shouts on his lips. Enma ran around the Shimon's territory trying to keep everything under control and his panic buried in his chest.

They were together, linked without description or a way to separate.

 **Affection**

Enma was leaning against the wall of the ballroom when he felt a warm presence strolling up to him.

"Are you here to save me?" Enma questioned without looking over. He watched as Aoba danced with Hana. The two of them were close, originally thrown together due to their mutual fondness of Ryohei and finding common interests as time went on.

"Fuck no. I'm stealing your hiding place."

"With both of us here we're a lot more likely to get spotted," Enma pointed out.

"At least we'll both be going down then."

Silence settled between them as Xanxus settled next to Enma.

As they stood there, hiding from the party going on around them with their thighs and shoulders barely brushing, Enma found a smile spreading on his face for the first time since arriving.

 **Ambiguous**

"So..."

Enma glanced up at Julie.

The desert guardian stood in front of him with his hands shoved into his back pockets, pushing the jacket he wore further back and showing off more of the atrociously patterned shirt he was wearing.

"Yes...?" Enma said, suspicion laced in his voice. It was unlike Julie to hang around his office after dropping something off. He preferred to run off to mess around.

"What's the deal with you and the angry guy?"

He stared for a minute before the words registered. Then he let out a groan, "Julie, no."

Julie tilted his head. "There's not a thing?"

"That's not what I said." Seeing his mouth opening, Enma cut in, "I didn't say there was a thing either. Whether or not there is a thing happening between Xanxus and I is none of your business."

"I don't know about that. Your our boss."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we have to sit here and talk about whether or not my love life exists."

He rocked on his heels for a minute before saying, "Are you sure? Because the others don't really-"

"I'm sure!" Enma insisted. He sighed, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. Then he added, "If I need to talk, I'll come to you."

 **Blanket**

Enma let out a content noise as his back thumped against Xanxus' bed.

"I forgot how soft your sheets were," he murmured, rubbing his cheeks against the fabric. "Your insistence on living a life of luxury is my favorite thing about you."

Xanxus words were low and husky, sending a shiver down Enma's spine, "It's hardly bad to live my life in pleasure."

The bed dipped as Xanxus climbed on. He crawled over Enma, trapping the other between his hands and knees.

He nosed against Enma's neck, a grin curling his lips when Enma let out a soft sigh and tangled his hands in Xanxus' hair.

"Come on then," Enma murmured, fingers tugging at raven strands. "Show me how nice it is to live a life of pleasure."

 **Breathe**

There is not a soul in the world that he would ever tell, but Xanxus' favorite place in the Vongola mansion had always been the gardens.

They were beautiful filled with carefully picked flowers and bright dazzling colors.

As a child, he'd been transfixed by it. He climbed trees when Enrico could be dragged away from his studies long enough to play hide and seek, he sat on the grass and ate ice cream with Massimo when the middle brother was feeling kind, he had held Federico's hand as they laid among the forget-me-nots and searched for aliens, he had sat on his stepmothers lap and laughed as his father and his guardians set fireworks off for the holidays.

He rarely allowed himself to wander in there when he was at the mansion, nowadays.

The memories were too much, choking him with well hidden grief and guilt.

But, as he leaned against the door frame and watched red hair wander among the plants, he felt the chokehold loosen.

"Trash! Come on. The fucking meeting's starting."

* * *

 **E/n:** So, I feel vaguely embarrassed about this and have no clue why.

But anyway! Lots of people have wanted me to write a set of drabbles for these two so...here! It's not in quite the same format as my other series (check out **I Cieli Vigilanza Su Tutto** and **Counsel Me** for more X00 goodness if you don't read them), but it's a start? There's a total of 150 prompts in the list I'm using and I'm going to go for 5 per chapter?

I'm looking forward to this though! Not just because it lets me write X00 without guilt (so much _guilt_ when i monopolize the other series with it), but because it lets me experiment with others too! Like I get to write the Shimon guardians, not just mention them! And I'll get to write the Varia! I can't wait! So on that note, feel free to tell me, more so then usual that is, if you think my characterizations are too far off. I appreciate constructive criticism, just not _destructive_ criticism!

AND FINALLY: please review if possible! I love hearing what everyone has to say!


	2. Clarion

**Angry Sky, Bright Earth**

* * *

 **Chunk & Clarion (the first and second prompts) are related with Clarion taking place first! Feel free to read them in whatever order**

 **Chunk**

Most days Enma was pretty sure he had a better handle on Xanxus' feelings are than Xanxus did.

Despite this, Enma was surprised to wake up and find Xanxus sitting in his hospital room.

He wasn't sitting right next to the bed, settled instead in a chair near the wall. He was staring out the window with his arms crossed over his chest.

His hair was pushed in all directions, he'd obviously been running his hands through it, and his clothes were rumpled as though he'd been sleeping in them.

"What's going on?" Enma said. The words slurred together, his mouth unused to speaking.

Xanxus turned to face him. For a moment, Enma saw a flicker of relief in his eyes.

"You got shot, trash," he answered. His fingers dug tighter into his arms. "I told you to take someone with you to meet him."

"I didn't think I need bodyguards with dons of allied families," Enma murmured. He let his eyes drift shut, feeling sleepy. Immediately, he heard the shuffle of feet. "I'm fine. You don't have to get up."

There was a moment before Xanxus said, his voice commanding, "Don't go back to sleep."

Enma let out a soft laugh, peeking one eye open to find the other man hovering near the edge of his bed. "Injured people are supposed to rest."

"You've spent more then enough time asleep."

There was an underlying worry there.

Enma forced his other eye open, shuffling to sit up. "I'll stay up longer enough to see the others. I'm sure Adel and Tsuna are lingering around here somewhere."

"Your trash guardians went to get dinner, I'll call and let them know your up." He added, "Tsuna is taking care of something. I'll let him know so he can drop by when he's done."

Enma didn't have to think very hard to know that Tsuna was ripping apart the family that'd put a bullet in him. "You didn't go with him?"

There was a moment of silence before Xanxus said, "Someone had to watch over you and make sure you didn't do something stupid."

 **Clarion**

He hadn't realized it would be worst.

His brothers had died when he was imprisoned.

The feeling of coming back and finding out the people you loved, no matter how angry you had been with them, had died was horrible.

Xanxus hadn't realized how much worse it was to sit in a hospital room and not be able to do anything but watch and hope that someone would live.

 **Complication**

"You have a private plane."

"Julie and Adel needed a vacation away from the kids."

Enma shuffled forward in the line as Xanxus answered, "They shouldn't have had the fucking twerps then."

There was a moment of tense silence before Enma said, "It feels like it's been forever since we've seen each other. I just thought it would be better to do this and get to see you then just video chatting for the meeting."

"You thought wrong then."

Enma sighed. "Xanxus, seriously. Just because it's not a Vongola trained pilot doesn't mean the plane is going to crash or get hijacked or anything. It'll be fine."

There was a huff on the other end of the line.

He glanced forward, taking in the small number of people between him and the women checking ticket. "I'm gonna need to hang up soon. It's almost my turn to board. I'll call when I've landed. "

"Don't bother. I'll be there to pick your ass up."

 **Contemplation**

"Xanxus! There's someone I want to introduce you too."

Gripping his liquor glass tightly, Xanxus said, "No."

"I wasn't expecting you to say yes which is why I brought him over here." Tsuna smiled, the expression deceptively serene. Xanxus felt a twitch of amusement. "After we talked, it occurred to me you might not have met Enma yet. I thought it would be good to introduce you."

"I haven't agreed yet, trash."

"So you say." Tsuna reached behind him, pulling a redhead his age out from behind him. "Xanxus, this is Enma. He's the boss of the Shimon. Enma, this is Xanxus. He runs the Varia. I've asked him to be my external adviser."

Xanxus swept his eyes along the Don.

He looked a little out of his depth, shifting nervously on his feet and playing with the cuffs of one of his sleeves.

There was something about the set of his shoulders though. They were proud and strong. It made it look as though as a moment's notice he would be ready to protect himself.

He remembered asking Lussuria about the boy several weeks earlier and finding out that he'd been the one to interrupt Tsuna's original inheritance all those years ago.

"Interesting," Xanxus said at last. A sharp toothed smile pulled at his lips. He could see satisfaction rising in Tsuna's eyes and weariness rising in Enma's. "Maybe I'll take the offer after all, trash."

 **Control**

They did not fight.

It was a bad idea and they both knew it.

Xanxus was explosive without any true anger. When he was actually riled up he got worse, hurdling words that cut deeper then simply being called trash. He was too proud to apologize as well. He'd watch their relationship crumble before he'd admit he'd been wrong about something or give in to what Enma wanted.

Enma, on the other hand, wouldn't get angry. He was a grown man, no longer the child he'd been when the Shimon had first come back, but having people well and truly angry at him wrecked him. He became the same mess of anxiety and nerves that he'd been back when he was a teenager. There had only been one time he'd fought with someone he cared about enough for it to happen, sometime after Adel and Julie had first gotten together and he and Julie had exchanged some particularly seething words, and no one wanted a repeat.

So they don't fight, because they both know that if they ever do they won't be able to come back from it.

* * *

 **E/n:** Oh gosh, guys you are so nice? So many of you have favorited/followed and been like "oh im so happy your writing this" and i've been blushing nonstop.

I'm trying for daily updates, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to? These take me a bit of time, since sometimes i get stuck on a prompt, and I prioritize Counsel Me and I Cieli.

ON ANOTHER NOTE: some of you may wonder about the note at the beginning of the chapter and why I wouldn't just readjust the prompts to be in chronological order. This is because I follow a prompt table and like to keep them in the same order as the table. If there come any other connections like that though, I'll be sure to let you know in a similar way.


	3. Crash

**Angry Sky, Bright Earth**

* * *

 **WARNING: Some sexual content in "Cramming" (third drabble) but it's most just explicit language! Feel free to skip if your uncomfortable with that!**

 **Copper**

"Trash, what are these?"

Enma glanced up from his desk, searching through it for a file he had to give Adelheid before he left, to find Xanxus standing near one of the walls. He was examining the display cabinets fixed to one of the walls, peering at the colorful stones enclosed in the glass.

"Oh. That." Enma looked at them for a moment before a small smile. "They're gifts."

"From who?"

"Rauji. He brings them back from missions and vacations."

Xanxus was quiet for a minute before saying, "That's the mountain?"

"Yup." Finding what he wanted, he pulled it from the drawer. "Okay, come on. I just have to give this to Adel then we can go out for lunch."

Xanxus clicked his tongue as he turned away. "Don't take too long or I'm leaving without you. We should've been gone half an hour ago."

"I know, I know."

 **Corpus**

The thumping of something hitting a wall.

A sharp burst of laughter. "Shishishi, you should pay more attention commander."

A growled, "I'm going to slice you to pieces and feed you to the sharks, you fucking brat!"

"Ah...I don't think Bel-senpai would make a good meal though." Barely a moment passed before a whined, "Bel-senpai, please stop throwing knives at my head."

"Fran has a point. It might be bad for you to feed them. What if they become dependent on your interference?"

"Well, I think if we're feeding that brat to the sharks we should add the other one in as well."

A chorused, "Shut up, Levi."

Enma turned, asking Xanxus, "Are you going to go stop them."

"No," Xanxus answered without opening his eyes. His fingers tightened around Enma's hip. "They'll shut up or fuck off soon enough."

"If they don't?"

"Then I shoot them through the fucking wall. I'm too comfortable to deal with their fucking bullshit right now."

Enma let out a laugh and scooted a little closer.

 **Cramming**

"This chair is too small."

Xanxus let out a gruff noise, something like a laugh, that had Enma's smile stretching wider. "It's not made for two people, trash."

"I don't know about that." Enma leaned his back against the table and spread his legs a little wider. He tapped his feet against Xanxus' calves. "Small furniture forces anyone who shares it to get closer."

Eyes roamed down Enma's body, fingers digging sharply into his hips. "How long did they say they'd be gone?"

"Long enough," Enma responded. "By the time they get back they won't even suspect that I've been riding you in the meeting room."

A growl ripped out of Xanxus throat. He surged forward, pressing their lips together harshly.

When they pulled apart, he nipped on Enma's lip and murmured, "You're a fucking tease."

"It's only teasing if I'm not planning on doing it."

 **Crash**

The second Enma hit Xanxus' bed, he felt all of the energy drain of him.

He sighed against the sheets. "I'm so tired."

"I figured. You're a fucking wimp."

He turned so he could see Xanxus, watching as the other slipped out of his jacket and started on the buttons of his shirt.

When Xanxus noticed him staring, he quirked an eyebrow.

"You're very attractive," Enma murmured. "And I'm very upset those old assholes exhausted me too much to have sex with you."

Xanxus turned away, but not before Enma saw the smallest twitch of his lips turning up. "You're here for another week, idiot. I'm sure there will be time."

"I hope so." He turned his face back into the sheets. "I'm going to fall asleep just like this."

"In a four hundred dollar suit?"

Enma let out a sleepy hum, "It's custom tailored. Very comfortable."

 **Creak**

"I had a nice time tonight," the girl murmured, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I did too," Enrico answered. His back was turned to them, but there was a tone in his voice that made it clear he was smiling. "I hope you'll dance with me next time."

Distantly, Xanxus could hear the music still drifting out of the ballroom.

There was a moment before the girl leaned in, pressing her lips to Enrico's cheek. When she pulled away, her face was bright red, "I will."

He heard Federico let out a soft gasp next to him. "She kissed him!"

"Erika, it's time to go now. Say goodbye to Don Vongola's son."

The girl gave another sigh smile before walking away to join her father and mother at the door.

Xanxus and Federico stayed where they were, pressed against the wall and peering around the corner.

After a moment, Federico said, "Do you think a girl will ever kiss us like that?"

"Kissing a girl doesn't sound very fun," Xanxus answered. He turned to face his brother as he added, "They have cooties."

Federico was silent for a minute before murmuring, "I think kissing a girl would be nice. Even if she gave me cooties."

"You know whats not nice?" Both of their eyes went wide at the new voice entering the conversation. "When two little brats spy on you."

They both looked at Enrico guilty.

He stared down at them, his expression somewhere between amused and irritated. His arms were crossed over his chest.

"Sorry big brother," they chorused.

"Uh huh." Enrico sighed, uncrossing his arms and putting his hands on their heads. "Come on, twerps. Let's get back to the party. Mama will be looking for you. And next time you follow someone, be a little quieter coming down the hall. If Erika had realized you were there I don't think she would have kissed me at all."

* * *

 **E/n:** I swear, there probably won't be a note/warning is every chapter! I just don't want to make any of you uncomfortable so I want to tell you if something might.

NSFWish content shouldn't appear much, I promise! It's just that I see Xanxus and Enma as a more sexual couple then 1827, the only other KHR pairing I've written a solor series like this for, so the call of something new is kind of exciting!

Anyway, I really like that last drabble. I'm sure a few of you know how fond i am of writing Xanxus with his brothers. I am a little worried it veers off topic, the topic being X00 of course, but it implies Xanxus is at least a little interested in boys (or at the very least, not interested in girls). I see him more as being pan/bi honestly, but it conflicted with what I wanted to do with that section.

Let me know what you think! About anything in here! I like knowing what you like seeing, what you don't like, etc.


	4. Daisy

**Angry Sky, Bright Earth**

* * *

 **Crossroads**

There was an apologetic look on Tsuna's face as he said, "Grandpa told me to bring you to him."

Xanxus raised an eyebrow, trying to keep his fingers from smashing the glass he held. "Since when do I follow orders from that old fart? Can't he see I'm busy?"

"Busy getting drunk by yourself?" Tsuna shot back.

Over the top of Tsuna's head, Xanxus spotted the doors opening. An idea settled in his mind when he saw who had joined. Timoteo and his guardians had never quite gotten comfortable with the Shimon, minds still caught on a mixture of the Fountain of Blood accident and Tsuna's first inheritance. "Nope. Busy getting the Shimon trash plastered."

"You can't keep running away from him forever!" Tsuna called after him.

"I'm not running away from him," Xanxus answered. "I've just got better things to do then listen to his lies for another twelve years of my life."

 **Daisy**

Enma dragged a finger against the petals of a flower.

Xanxus watched him, arms crossed over his chest and one eyebrow quirked.

"My sister picked flowers a lot," he murmured. His voice was raw with grief. "When she gave them to my father, he would wear them behind his ear or in his shirt pocket. My mom would braid them into her hair or put them on the dinner table."

There was a moment of silence.

At last, Xanxus put forward, "Massimo bought my mother flowers for mothers day every year. He never picked ones from the garden. He said she deserved something she didn't see everyday."

"You're brother sounds like he was a good guy."

"You're sister sounds like a sweet girl."

Enma's fingers fell from the flower. "She never had a chance to be anything else."

 **Darkling**

Enma watched as Xanxus slept.

Part of him wanted to reach out and wipe away the hair that had fallen into Xanxus' face, but he knew the movement would wake him up. Which he really didn't want to do.

It wasn't that he didn't enjoy Xanxus' company.

It was just that when he was asleep, Xanxus managed to forget things.

There was no anger, no guilt, no grief on his mind when he slept.

Enma liked that he could have those moments, even if they were when he was unconscious.

 **Dastardly**

"I hate you."

"You don't," Enma answered. He held the bottle up to his face, whistling when he saw the label. "This is good whiskey."

"I know," Xanxus hissed. "I bought it for me to drink."

"I'm not much of a whiskey drinker, but I think one of the others will enjoy it."

"They will not." Xanxus ground his teeth together, "I paid good money for that."

Enma hummed. He turned to face Xanxus, dropping the bottle so he held it loosely between two fingers. "I can't very well leave it here with you, now can I? You drink whiskey the way most people drink Redbull. If I give it to you, you're never going to get to sleep."

"I've got shit to do," Xanxus snapped. "I'm not going to sleep."

"Then I'm taking your whiskey. Have a nice night!"

 **Deception**

Enma had barely turned away from the girl before there was a hand clamping down on his arm.

"Xanxus?" he questioned, glancing from the hand up to the man in front of him.

"We're leaving," Xanxus hissed. His grip tightened when his eyes caught something over Enma's head. "Right now."

"I can't leave without telling someone that I'm-"

Xanxus bent down, pressing their lips together.

The kiss was a little rougher and a little more passionate then what was publicly acceptable.

When he pulled away, Enma found himself out of breath. Dizzily, he asked, "What was that for?"

"You're mine," Xanxus growled. He pulled Enma across the dance floor. "And if that trash guardian of yours ever tries to set you up again, I'm going to rip her head off."

"Adel's not trying to set me up. Why would you think that?" Xanxus didn't answer. After a moment, Enma said, "Is this because I was dancing with that girl? Because she's just the daughter of an allied family. Adel only offered me as her partner because-"

"You aren't hers to offer." Xanxus' fingers tightened even further. Enma tried not to wince, knowing there would be bruises on his skin in the morning. "She can offer her own fucking boyfriend next time."

* * *

 **E/n:** I'm not sure how I feel about these... I rushed a bit because I was out most of the day and didn't want to miss the update. I know you guys tell me not to worry about missing an update or two, but it's honestly more of a personal thing?

Lets talk about sad stuff! I'd like to think Enma and Xanxus connect a lot over the loss of their loved ones. But I'd also like to think that they sometimes struggle to understand each other.

Xanxus is bitter about not being there for his brothers when they died, about pushing them all away before the Cradle incident. Enma is bitter about his sister never getting a chance to grow up. Those are two very different types of pain that I think they'd have a hard time getting to connect to each other about.


	5. Delirium

**Angry Sky, Bright Earth**

* * *

 **Deep**

"I know you asked us to stay out of it," Aoba said. "But I think we should talk about it."

Enma resisted the urge to groan, already sensing where this conversation was going. "Do we have to do this in the middle of the hallway? Actually, do we have to do this at all?"

"Yes. You'll run away any other time."

"I could run away now."

Aoba shot a glance at him, "Enma, do you really think you could out run me? There's only so much space in this mansion."

There was a moment before Enma gave a heavy sigh. "What do you want to know?"

"Are you happy? I know you keep telling us he's not that bad, but you said the other day you were jealous of Adel because Julie says he loves her. That's worrying."

"Of course I'm happy. I'm not such a loser I wouldn't break it off if I wasn't." There was a moment before he added, "And about the feeling things, he doesn't say it but you don't have to worry about it. There's a lot of reasons and I understand them."

"Wouldn't you be happier with someone who did though?"

Enma thought for a moment before shaking his head. He scratched at his cheek, laughing as he said, "I think I'd get too embarrassed if someone were to actually tell me they love me."

 **Delirium**

Xanxus woke up to a pounding headache and a feeling as if his whole body was on fire.

There was a small, cold hand pressed against his forehead.

"Mama?" he muttered.

"Oh..." There was something sad in the familiar voice. "No. I'm sorry, Xanxus."

He forced his eyes open. His vision was blurry and the lights in the room sent a throb through his head.

There was a redhead leaned over his bed. His hair was sticking up in all directions and there were dark purple bags under his eyes. There was something familiar about him but Xanxus couldn't figure out quite who he was.

He said as much, slurring out, "Who are you? What's going on?"

"You've got a bad flu." The hand retreated from his face and Xanxus mourned the loss of the cool feeling. "I'm taking care of you for a while."

He thought for a minute before closing his eyes. He curled in on himself. "I'd rather have mama."

There was a moment before the other answered, his voice raw and pained, "I know. Just go back to sleep."

 **Direction**

Xanxus stalked across the room.

The man on the otherside shook with fear, his eyes springing tears. He held his hands out, pleading, "Please! Don't do this! I have-"

Xanxus didn't hesitate in raising his guns and firing. There was the jerk of the body as the bullets slammed through and red blossomed on clothing.

"Usually, I'd sit here and listen to you plead a little longer," Xanxus hissed. He bent down in front of the man, balancing on his toes, so that he would be able to tell when the life drained from the man. "If I hadn't been ordered to make sure you had time to think about what you did wrong before letting you die, I would have shot you dead right away."

He felt his phone buzz in his pocket and didn't have to pull it out to know it was Enma asking if he was sure his job would be done with in time.

"So hurry up and die trash. I've got somewhere better to be then here."

 **Dodge**

Enma ducked his head quickly. A thump resounded behind him.

He turned, finding a series of knives stuck in the door he'd just come out.

"Whoa," he said. "Good thing I moved."

"Look what you did Bel-senpai." Enma looked away from the wall. Belphegor and Fran were standing across from him, on the other side of the stairs. "Boss would kill you if you hurt him."

"Shishishi, if you hadn't moved they wouldn't have ended up in Boss' door."

"If I hadn't moved, I'd be dead senpai."

"That's the point froggy."

Enma looked back at the knives. He didn't quite get Belphegor and Fran, he wasn't sure anyone quite got the two of them, so he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do.

Finally he settled on calling over, "I can't throw them back. I'm not very good at that kind of thing."

There was a moment where both of them stared at him.

At last, Fran said, "Just pull them out of the wall and throw them down. Maybe they'll hit Levi on the way down."

"But then they'll have touched him," Belphegor said.

There was a moment where Fran and Bel just stared at each other, as if silently discussing the merits of their plan.

"I'm just going to leave them here then," Enma said, moving to go down the staircase. "You guys can figure it out yourself."

 **Dove**

"Tsuna says you used to dress ridiculously," Enma declared. He was leaning on one hand, watching Xanxus across the table. Around them, the cafe buzzed with the noise of other patrons. "Lots of furs and feathers."

"The Vongola trash has been wearing the same orange sweatshirt since he was fifteen. I don't think he has the right to call my clothes ridiculous," Xanxus replied.

"No, I suppose not." Enma leaned forward, a grin spreading over his lips. "You didn't deny it though."

"I did wear a lot of furs and feathers back then," Xanxus said. "I looked fucking hot in them too."

* * *

 **E/n:** This may be a little morbid, but one of my favorite things about KHR has always been the way the manga's subject (the mafia) lends itself to letting me explore darker themes.

Also: DON'T TALK TO ME ABOUT XANXUS AND HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS STEP/ADOPTED MOTHER. I WILL CRY BC IT'S ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE THINGS I HAVE DECIDED WAS PROBS REALLY GOOD BEFORE HIS LIFE FELL APART.


	6. Dysfunctional

**Angry Sky, Bright Earth**

* * *

 **Downfall**

Enma leaned backwards. He'd been sitting on the edge of Xanxus' desk, waiting for him to finish up his work before taking Enma out to lunch, but now he was laying across it.

His knees were hooked around one side of it while his shoulders and head hung off the other. The desk dug painfully into his back, but he ignored it. His fingers were curled around the wood, a loose grip keeping him from falling, and his head was tilted all the way back to stare at the wall behind him.

"What the fuck are you doing trash?"

"Thinking."

"In that position?"

"Well, I have a question for you and I didn't want to see your face when I asked it so I thought this was best." A moment passed. "Are we doomed to break up, for lack of a better word, just because we don't talk about how we feel? Because everyone keeps acting like we're freaks for it and I just-"

"Shut up." There was a sigh before Xanxus added, "You care too fucking much about what others think. We're fine the way we are."

"Are we?"

"Were you planning on leaving me just because I won't say it?"

"Not particularly."

"Then it's fine. Drop it." There was a moment before Xanxus said, "And fucking sit up before you crack in two, you fucking twig."

 **Dream**

"Mama, what are you doing?"

"I'm making bocconotto."

"Eh?" Xanxus, standing on a small stool next to the women, peered down at the batter in the bowl. "Why are you doing it instead of the cook?"

"Because these are special." She smiled softy as she stirred. "Enrico told me these are Erika's favorites. Since she's coming over for tea, I wanted to make them myself."

"Erika's come over lots of times though," Xanxus said. "Why does she get special treats this time?"

"Because Erika isn't coming over to play just because her father is speaking to yours. She's coming over today because she's Enrico's girlfriend."

Xanxus was quiet for a minute, merely watching as the woman worked. He asked, "If Massimo brings a girl over, will you make her something too?"

"Yup."

"And Federico?"

"Yes."

"And me?"

She turned to him, her smile still soft and fond, "Of course, my little star." She bent down, pressing a kiss to the tip of his nose. "But you shouldn't be in any hurry to get a girlfriend. I'll be around to make you sweets for a long long time."

He hummed before saying, "Promise?"

"Promise. Now, are you going to run off to play or help me with these?"

"Federico's still doing his homework, so I'll help you."

 **Dry**

"When was the last time you cried?"

"Why would I fucking cry? And why does it fucking matter?"

"Because everyone cries, Xanxus." A hum, a head tilted upwards. "I suppose it doesn't really matter. I was just curious."

"About me crying?"

"Well, it's just that I've never seen you do it. You don't cry when you get hurt or when your frustrated or when you miss someone a lot."

"Crying isn't going to help me in any of those situations."

"Neither is screaming and drinking too much, but you don't have any problem doing that."

Silence stretched between them.

"When I found out about my father."

Another moment, then Enma ventured, "Not afterwards? When you found out everyone was-"

"No. Crying wouldn't have brought them back, so I didn't see a point."

 **Duckling**

Enma stopped as he stepped into the room.

Dinno and Tsuna were already sat at their usual seats. Xanxus was sat where he always was as well. However, sitting next to Xanxus were Lambo and Ipin. There was sheets of paper and a mess of crayons in front of each of them.

"Um..."

Tsuna glanced back at him. "Ah. You're here. Finally, let's get started okay?"

"Yeah...Sorry, I'm late." As he crossed to his seat, he glanced back at Xanxus. "I thought Lambo and Ipin were afraid of him?"

"They were." Tsuna leaned on one of his palms, his own eyes watching his siblings as they colored. "He got trapped at my place during that food a few months ago. I don't really know what happened, but they ended up dragging him all around. They won't stop asking about him now."

"Ah..."

There was a moment before Tsuna let out a soft laugh. "It's a little silly, but I can't help being a bit jealous of him. It's been a while since they followed me around like that. I miss it a bit."

Enma watched as Lambo picked up his drawing, shoving it into Xanxus' face. It was pushed away roughly, and though there was a sour twist to Xanxus' mouth as he spoke there was a fondness in his eyes.

"I can see what you mean."

 **Dysfunctional**

"Do you uh...want to have lunch with me?"

Xanxus leaned on his hand. He stared up at the boy standing next to him. He quirked an eyebrow, "Why would I want to do that, trash?"

"Ah well...I heard from Tsuna that you usually just eat steak and liquor when your in town..." Xanxus made a note to ask the Vongola Decimo's to train with him before he left. If he was going to gossip like Lussuria, he deserved a swift kick to his ass. "So I thought I would offer to take you somewhere else."

"I know other restaurants, trash," Xanxus replied. "I fucking grew up here. I just like steak and liquor."

"I know that." Enma's nervousness seemed to be replaced, momentarily, by annoyance. "But I haven't really spoken to you outside of the meetings and steak and liquor is not a healthy diet. So I figured we could go somewhere together."

Xanxus stared at him for a moment. He'd be interested in the other since their introduction, anyone who made his father uncomfortable was okay in his book, and he found his interest growing. It wasn't everyday someone talked to him like that.

He stood up abruptly, snagging his coat from the back of his chair on his way. "Let's go then. But make sure we go somewhere that's fucking good. I don't like wasting my time."

* * *

 **E/n:** So Dysfunctional was an attempt at trying to figure out how this relationship started, but I'm not sure if I'm too fond of it.

I accidently wrote about Xanxus and his family again...It's a guilty pleasure of mine tbh. This story give me a good opportunity to write about it, but I worry I've been taking advantage of it a bit. I considered writing something short - a one shot or a small prompt series (10/15 drabbles) - to try and get it out of my system but I'm not sure...


	7. Elemental

**Angry Sky, Bright Earth**

* * *

 **Echoes**

" _He loves me...he loves me not...he loves me..."_

" _Mami? What are you doing?"_

" _I'm playing a game! Do you want to play, big brother?"_

" _We have to go inside. Mama said to wash up for dinner."_

" _It'll be really quick! I promise."_

" _...Okay, really quick. Give me a flower."_

Enma came to consciousness slowly. He could feel the tears on his cheeks and his heart beating fast in his chest.

"A dream," he murmured. He took a deep breath. "Just a dream."

 **Effervescent**

Enma stared at Xanxus.

After several moments had passed, he said, "Wow, you actually came."

Annoyance flashed across Xanxus' features. "I told you I was coming. Why the fuck are you so surprised?"

"I suppose I wasn't expecting you to actually go through with it. You've never bothered picking me up before."

"The fucking trash was too busy to send someone out to get you."

Enma hummed. They were quiet for a minute before he ventured, "Or maybe, you were just so excited to see me you couldn't wait until I got there?"

There was a pause. Enma's grin spread wider. He was about to open his mouth, teasing Xanxus about the situation, when a hand slapped against his forehead.

"Ow," he groaned, reaching up. He rubbed at the wound. "What was that for?"

"Being a fucking idiot. Hurry up or you can find another ride."

 **Elegance**

"Dance with me." Xanxus didn't bother dignifying the request with an answer, instead just shooting Enma a sharp glance. "Aw, come on. There's no harm in it."

"The loss of my dignity is pretty big."

"I don't think dancing is going to have a huge effect on that."

"Dancing with you will. You can barely fucking walk most days."

"That's hardly true anymore."

Xanxus smirked, "You're not denying that it's true."

"Well, it was for a while." Enma stared at him for a while before saying, "So you never dance with me because you think I'll fall?"

There was a moment before Xanxus answered, "I never dance with you, because I have no interest in dancing."

"I see..." Enma let out a small laugh. He scratched his cheek with one finger, "I guess it was silly of me to think there was any deeper reason."

"Go get me another drink."

"Eh? Why? I only just got over here."

"Because this fucking party is boring and I'm only still here because your trash guardian won't let you leave."

 **Elemental**

"Be careful with him, okay?"

Xanxus didn't look up as he said, "Are you telling me what to do, trash?"

"No, asshole, I'm giving you advice. That kid isn't like me and you."

"You don't even know him."

"That bastard Yamamoto said he's just like Tsuna." Squalo was quiet for a moment before sighing, "And even if he's not, I know you. So be careful. Fire has a tendency to ruin the earth."

Xanxus glanced up. "That was strangely poetic of you."

"Don't be a prick, jackass."

Xanxus leaned on one hand, watching Squalo. "Why are you so worried about him?"

"I'm not worried about him. I'm worried about you." An eyebrow raised. Another sigh from Squalo. "I know you well enough to know that if you hurt that kid you'd never forgive yourself. So just be careful."

After another moment, Xanxus said, "I think that horse idiot would be jealous that your worrying about me so much."

"Yeah well, that idiot has a whole different set of problems.'

 **Ennui**

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Xanxus groaned. Despite his complainants, he snagged his phone off the side table. Holding it to his ear, he flopped back against his pillows. "This had better be fucking good, trash."

A familiar laugh came through the other end. There was a slightly maniac edge to it that Xanxus found unsettling this late at night. "Sorry, sorry. I woke you up again, didn't I?"

Xanxus didn't answer. Instead, he asked, "Another nightmare?"

There was a moment before Enma let out a soft sigh. He could particularly see the other boy nodding, probably wrapped up in his sheets and holding his knees to his chest. "Yes."

"Did you want to...?"

"No." Enma let out another one of those laughs that had Xanxus' skin crawling. There was something so wrong about that sort of sound coming from a boy who was usually so happy and content, so much more put together then Xanxus was himself. "It was a bit more personal then the others."

"Aright."

There was a moment before Enma said, "This is really lame, but my mother read to me a lot when I was a kid. Especially when I was a kid and I think I just need that right now."

Xanxus pushed himself up and flipped the lamp on. He glanced around before saying, "The only thing I have is a mission report from the sun trash."

"Read it to me."

Even as he reached over, he questioned, "We're an assassination organization. Are you sure this is what you want right now?"

"Just read it, please."

* * *

 **E/n:** For some reason, Xanxus ended up being the more gentle one in this set while Enma was a bit more assertive.

In general, my headcanon for the relationship is that they balance each other out in that way. Enma calms Xanxus and Xanxus builds Enma up, but I wonder if it ended up over doing it in this set? If it was a little too out of character?


	8. Evolution

**Angry Sky, Bright Earth**

* * *

 **Evaluation**

Enma propped himself up on one elbow, watching Xanxus as he crossed the room.

It never failed to amaze Enma how good he looked.

His whole body was tanned and the muscles on his back well defined. There was a tattoo done in heavy black lines on the bottom. A bird cage, a small bird inside of it, and three lions looping up the sides and around the top. Enma knew it was a homage to the family he'd lost.

"What are you staring at?"

Enma let his eyes trail back up, finding Xanxus looking over his shoulder. There was a look on his face like he knew exactly what Enma was going to say.

"You," Enma answered, smiling widely. He held a hand out. "Come back to bed."

"I was going to get dressed."

"I think we'll have more fun if your pants stay off."

"Fucking cocky brat."

Enma's grin widened as Xanxus came back towards him, clothes still on the floor. "You've never complained before."

 **Evolution**

"Tsuna said he invited your father to the wedding."

"I'm sure he did."

"I'd like to talk to him."

A snort. "I'd pay to see his fucking guardians reactions to you walking up to him."

"Mmm, try to kill your best friend once and you never live it down." Silence, soft breathing over the phone line. "What I said stands."

"I fucking figured." The rustle of a hand pushing through hair. "He already knows. He has lunch with the fucking Vongola trash once a month, I'm sure he's told him something. And even if he hasn't, this family is full of gossips. Someone would have told him."

"There's a difference between someone telling you and your son introducing you."

More silence.

"You're going to do whatever you want regardless of what I say." A soft hum. "Fine. But I'm not fucking introducing you or anything. I don't want anything to do with him."

"I know. Thank you."

"Whatever."

 **Expendable**

His knuckles were turning white as his grip tightened on the desk. He questioned, "You can't tell me anything?"

"No, I'm sorry," the nurse said. There was a slightly apologetic look on her face. "I can only release patient details to the family."

Enma could feel the slow panic rising in his chest.

This was why he didn't like civilian hospitals.

Vongola doctors always understood. They didn't need to look at medical records, didn't need to ask him his name and have him show ID, didn't keep details about Xanxus from him.

But there was a bullet in Xanxus chest and all of their facilities were too far to get him too.

He took a deep breath, trying to squash his panic. "Alright."

As he trudged over to the plastic chairs, he pulled his phone from his pocket and hit one of the speed dials.

Tsuna answered right away, rushing out, "Shamal is on his way to you right now. Ryohei and Lussuria are with him, they'll be able to keep him going while Shamal does the surgery. And I'm getting in a car right now. I should get there a few minutes after them."

"Okay." Enma let his head thump against the glass wall behind him. He could feel the tears in his eyes. "They won't tell me anything, because I'm not on his medical records. I don't even know if his surgery is going okay." He was finding it harder to breath the longer time went on. "And I think I'm having a panic attack, because he isn't supposed to get shot by punk kids on the street and I can't fucking lose him, Tsuna."

He heard Tsuna take a sharp breath. "I can't really imagine a bullet being able to kill him. He's been shot plenty of times."

"Bullets kill people all the time. Bullets kill _our_ people all the time."

"Xanxus isn't most people, though." There was another soft sound on Tsuna's side. "I can't promise it's going to be okay, Enma. But I'm trying my hardest to make sure it'll be okay."

There was a moment before Enma said, "Will you stay on the phone with me until you get here?"

"Absolutely."

 **Expostulate**

"I don't like you."

"I don't particularly care," Xanxus said.

Adelheid didn't back down, biting out, "You're bad for him."

"He doesn't seem to think so."

"Because he's too stupid to understand it and even if he didn't, he's too weak to do anything about it." Adel stepped forward. Xanxus leveled his gaze at her, his irritation growing as his space was invaded. "That's why he has me. So I can make sure he doesn't get hurt."

"He's not a fucking child. He doesn't need you to protect him." He let his eyes scrunch, meeting her glare with one of his own. "And this isn't any of your fucking business, even if he did. If he wanted someone to fucking coddle him, I'm sure he'd be fucking you instead of me."

"How dare you-"

"Xanxus. Adel. What are you doing?"

Xanxus dropped his gaze, sliding over to Enma. He was standing a few feet away, a look of confusion in his eyes but a smile on his face.

"Nothing," Xanxus dismissed. "What do you want, trash?"

Enma's eyes flickered over at Adelheid before he said, "Don's keep introducing Dino to their daughters, so Tsuna and I are slipping out into the hall with him for a while. Are you coming?"

"Who'd want to marry that trash?"

He pushed himself off the wall, maneuvering around the girl in front of him.

"Mm...Okay." As Xanxus passed him, Enma added, "I'll come see you when I get back, Adel. No Don's looking for husbands though."

Xanxus couldn't help the smirk that raised on his face. He called over his shoulder, "Come on, trash. I'll leave you behind."

 **Exquisite**

"Trash, get up."

Enma startled, head jerking up to the door. "Xanxus?"

The other man stood at the doorway, his foot tapping impatiently. There was a bottle in one hand and a brown package in the other. "Who else would it fucking be?"

"You didn't tell me you were coming," Enma said. "So literally anyone."

A scowl set on Xanxus' lips. "I've got good fucking liquor and chocolate. Are you coming or not?"

"You bought me chocolate?" He glanced down at his desk before casting a mournful glance at the package in Xanxus' arms. "I've still got so much work to do."

"I got the chocolates as a gift and you like this sweet shit a lot more then I do," Xanxus said. "You interrupt my work all the time. You can come fucking do it afterwards."

"After I get drunk?"

"And you put a dent in these shitty chocolates."

Enma glanced at his work again, mind wavering.

Even if Xanxus was calling them shitty, the chocolate had to have been a high quality to have been gifted to Xanxus of all people. Most likely they had come from Lussuria or Fran, both of which had excellent taste. And Xanxus didn't drink cheap liquor...

He pushed himself up, groaning out, "Adel is going to kill me when she realizes I'm not here."

"Like I give a shit about your babysitter. Let's go."

* * *

 **E/n:** So I'm sorry about not updating yesterday. I had a mishap with I Cieli and Counsel Me and then I was scrambing to fix that and I was busy with something else as well. I know you guys say that it doesnt matter to you when I update, to focus on personal stuff first, but I wanted to at least tell you why!

The only thing I have to say about this chapter is that Xanxus is completely the kind of guy who has tattoos.


	9. Fermata

**Angry Sky, Bright Earth**

* * *

 **Fade**

"I like talking to you about them."

Xanxus dug his palm into his eyes as he questioned, "What?"

He was still groggy from sleep, trying to catch up with what was going on. Usually, he woke up more alert, but Enma had interrupted him sleeping the past several nights.

"My family. I like talking to you about them." The confession had Xanxus stilling. "If I tell you about them, then I'm remembering them and they aren't fading away from me." There was a moment before Enma let out a soft laugh, "That sounds really stupid, doesn't it?"

Xanxus found himself at a bit of a loss.

"You're a fucking idiot," Xanxus said when he managed to get his thoughts together. "It's not stupid to want to hold on to memories of the people you loss." He tightened his hand around his phone, "Even I do it."

 **False**

"I don't think you're nearly as bad as you're trying to be."

Xanxus glanced up at him. He raised a hand, waving the item held in his fingers, "Are you sure you wan to start this conversation when I've got a knife in my hands?"

Enma couldn't help the laugh that fell from his lips. He leaned forward, towards the knife, and questioned, "What are you going to do? Stab me for saying you're not a monster?"

There was a moment before Xanxus reached out, touching the tip of the blade to Enma's throat.

Enma didn't bother pulling back, even though he could hear the others in the restaurant beginning to stir.

They stared at each other for what seemed like hours before Enma pulled back. He settled into his chair, grinning, "See! I told you, you aren't the monster you like to act like. If you were, you wouldn't have heistated to do it for real."

"You're a fucking freak." Xanxus glanced around before sighing, he slammed the knife onto the table. "I'm not going to be able to come here again thanks to your little stunt."

"It's okay, I'm sure we can find another steak house to satisfy your cravings."

 **Fate**

"What's your opinion on it?"

Tsuna didn't bother looking up from his paperwork as he said, "The mafia is filled with gossips, Kyoya. It's impossible for me to know what your talking about when your being this vague."

"Enma and Xanxus. It's all Dino would talk about lunch," Kyoya answered. Out of the corner of his eye, Tsuna could see Kyoya moving. He was looking out one of the windows. "I couldn't tell if he was worried about it or excited about it."

"Mmm, at the very least this should ease some of the tension right? If Xanxus is with Enma, Dino won't worry so much about Squalo."

There was an affirmative noise.

They were quiet for a while before Tsuna said, "I didn't really understand it at first, but the more I see them around each other the more I understand it. They work well. Like their filling in the spaces in each others." Tsuna saw the hand Kyoya reached out and captured it immediately. He linked their fingers together as he let out a laugh. "You're being affectionate today."

"You're happy."

It wasn't a question, but Tsuna nodded anyway. "As long as it works for Enma and he's happy, I'm happy."

 **Fermata**

"Hey Xanxus," Enma said, leaning on his hand. He was watching Tsuna as his friend danced with Kyoya. "Let's get married."

"Absolutely not."

There was no hesitation, no pause.

Enma laughed, turning his head so he could look at Xanxus. "Rejecting me right out of the gate, huh?"

"When have I ever fucking rejected you? I let you fucking drag me around most days." Xanxus turned so he was facing Enma as well, his arms folded over his chest and his legs crossed. "But I don't want to marry you and you don't want to marry me."

"I'm pretty sure I'm the one who asked."

"Only because we're at a fucking wedding. This shit manipulates people like that. Makes them think they've got to have it as well or else their relationships don't mean as much and will fall apart."

"Ah..." Enma blinked several times before breaking out in a grin. "That's oddly thoughtful of you."

"You say that to me all the time. Do you think I'm an idiot or something?"

"Mhm, no. I just get surprised when you do." He looked forward again, watching Tsuna for a moment. Then he mused, "Going by what you said, even though we'll never get married you'll stay with me forever?"

"It's not like there's anyone else I'm interested in."

 **Fetch**

Enma burrowed further into the blankets, groaning out, "I want oranges."

"Then go get them yourself."

He glared at Xanxus. The other male was sitting in a chair in the corner of Enma's room, focused on his phone.

"I'm sick," Enma whined. "I can't even get out of bed."

"If you were that sick you wouldn't be able to keep the food down anyway."

Enma let out another whine. "You're the worst."

"Mmm. Go to sleep, idiot. By the time you wake up, you'll have forgotten about your stupid craving and I'll get you some real food."

* * *

 **E/n:** Enma was simultaneously very grown up and very childish this time around.


	10. Firm

**Angry Sky, Bright Earth**

* * *

 **Firm**

Julie was sprawled across his bed when he heard the door slam open.

Sighing to himself, he swung his body upwards.

Adelheid was standing by his door, her expression dark with anger and her whole body coiled up.

"Come 'ere," he murmured. He held a hand out for her. She stared at him for a minute before walking over to him, taking his hand before he tugged her closer. He wrapped his legs around her calves and his arms around her waist. She folded into him immediately, putting her head on his shoulder. "You guys fought again."

It wasn't a question but she nodded against his shoulder. She grumbled, "I wish he'd listen to me. He's not even considering everything that could go wrong and-"

"You can't tell him to end a relationship just because something bad might happen." Julie rubbed a thumb against her spine. "Besides, the way it looks to me nothing is going to happen. Those two are so wrapped up in each other it's ridiculous."

"What if Enma starts wanting something he can't give? What if he wants someone to tell him they love him or to call him their lover? Xanxus won't give him that no matter how much he wants it and it'll hurt Enma so much..."

Julie hummed in thought. Then he said, "I don't see that happening. But if Enma ever needs someone to tell him how loved he is he has all of us. I'm not going to call him my lover, but he's definitely my brother and I'm more then willing to let him know that."

There was a moment before Adelheid said, "I still don't like it."

He laughed against her skin. "I didn't expect that a few words from me would change your opinion. It never has before. I'm just saying, you should listen to what Enma actually wants instead of speculating on what Enma may want in the future."

 **Fizzy**

The look on Xanxus' face was one of such horror and disgust that Enma couldn't help laughing at him.

"No way in fucking hell," Xanxus said when he managed to get a hold of him. "That shit is basically water."

"First off all, it's not. Your alcohol tolerance is just ridiculous." Enma examined the bottle in his hand before adding, "And second of all, we're not trying to get drunk. We're trying to celebrate."

"Considering I don't see the point in celebrating and I have a liquor cabinet with some of the best vodka in the word, I will be drinking that instead."

"You know I kind of figured you'd say that." Enma held up a finger, "One glass. For the normalcy of celebrating an anniversary with it."

Xanxus stared at him for a long time before saying, "Then I want the highest proof vodka I have."

"Fine, as long as you're going to share."

"Why should I?" Xanxus sneered. "You're making me drink champagne."

 **Flame**

"Tsuna, was there ever something between Xanxus and Squalo?"

The Vongola Decimo glanced up from his lunch to look at Enma. After a moment, he asked, "Are you worried about it?"

"No," Enma answered with a shake of his head. He was leaning on one elbow, cheek cradled in his palm, while the other hand held the fork he was stirring his pasta with. "Just curious. Dino gets so jumpy about them."

"Ah..." Tsuna thought for a moment before saying, "I don't think so. Squalo and Xanxus' relationship is as undefinable as yours, but it's always been platonic as far as I know. If something did happen between them it was in high school, which could explain why Dino is so jumpy about it, but they're over it."

"Mmm." They settled into silence for a moment before Enma laughed. When he saw the look Tsuna was giving him, something between worry and confusion, he added, "It's funny to think about Xanxus as a teenager. All awkward limps and acne problems."

Tsuna considered it for a moment before letting out a laugh of his own. "For some reason, I think it probably didn't go like that for him."

 **Flight**

"I'm so jealous," Enma said. He was folded in half, his chair scooted back so he could rest his forehead on his desk. His phone sat somewhere above the top of his head on speaker. "You actually get to do your job."

"You fucking hate killing people," Xanxus answered.

"You're getting out of your office though. That's more then I get to do this week."

"Then fucking leave, who cares."

Enma sighed, "Aoba or Adel would drag me back in a heartbeat."

"So go somewhere they can't find you."

He was about to object, but found himself pausing.

For all that he complained, it was rare for Enma too put off doing his work or to pass it off to someone else.

He found himself asking, "Where's your mission again?"

"Madrid. Some minor asshole stirring up trouble in an allies territory."

Enma turned the knowledge over in his head.

He ran through the list of people he could pass his work off too without them trying to stop him from leaving.

Adelheid and Aoba were out of the question. Julie wouldn't stop him from leaving, but he wouldn't do the work either. Shitopi wouldn't stop him either, but if she got caught up in something she would probably forget to do as he asked. Kaoru had been talking about going to visit Yamamoto, so Enma didn't want to stick him with even more work to do before he could leave.

"I'm going to pass some work off to Rauji, then I'll get going. Don't leave without me."

"Whatever. Don't take too long. I'm going for work not a fucking vacation."

 **Flower**

Enma was sitting at the table, trying to keep his coloring between the lines, when the door opened.

"I'm home!" his father called. His eyes were shining with mischief and his hands were held between his back. "And I brought gifts!" His mother turned, her hands still buried in soapy dish water, and fixed him with a look. He let out a laugh, "It's nothing expensive, I promise!"

"Honestly?" his mother questioned.

"Honestly."

He watched as his father darted forward. He pulled a yellow flower out from behind his back and tucked it smoothly behind her ear. He darted in to press a kiss to her lips.

"Oh." He watched as a smile spread across his mother's face. She gave a small laugh. "Thank you, darling."

His father pressed another kiss to her lips, before pressing their foreheads together for a moment.

Enma spoke up, "Is there one for me too, papa?"

"Of course! And one for you're sister too." His father pulled back from his mother. He took several steps towards Enma before banishing a blue at him. "Here you go, Enma."

He took it between small fingers. He glanced between it and the one tucked behind his mother's ear. "Mine different then Mama's."

"Yes." Enma watched as his father bent down next to him. "Because flowers have meanings and I had different things to say to you and your mother."

"Oh." Enma stared at the flower in his hand before asking, "What does Mama's mean?"

"Well, it's a primrose. So it means that I can't live without her."

Enma cast a glance at his mother and saw her smile widening. He looked back at his father and the white flower still in his hand. "What's that?"

"A white rosebud," his father explained. "It's for Mami. It stands for girlhood."

He looked down at his own flower before asking, "And mine?"

"A blue violet." His father reached up, ruffling Enma hair. "To tell you that I'll always be watching over you."

"Even when I grow up?"

"Even when you grow up," his father assured.

* * *

 **E/n** : I like doing outside POV's on a relationship so things like the Julie/Adel piece here and the Tsuna/Kyoya one in the last part are really fun. When I get a good prompt for it, I promise I'm going to do one for the Varia or Timoteo.

My knowledge of flower language also comes from google searches so I'm sorry if anythings wrong in that section?

And finally, this will be my last update for about two weeks? I'm going on vacation so.

Luckily, this was the 50th prompt so it's a pretty convenient place for me to take a short break.


	11. Game

**Angry Sky, Bright Earth**

* * *

 **Footsteps**

"You know, you make yourself easy to track down when you step in the victims blood."

"Whose going to come after me? The guy with a bullet through his forehead?"

"Well, me for one."

Xanxus cast a glance over his shoulder, throwing a thoroughly unimpressed look at Enma. "You are the least likely person in the Earth to harm me, you weak little shit."

"I suppose your right." Enma ran a hand through his hair. He flickered his gaze downward at the body lying in a pool of blood and scrunched his nose. "Remind me not to go on another job with you. This is disgusting."

"I told you you wouldn't like it. You're the one who insisted on coming."

Enma just sighed, "I've got a bad habit of following you when I shouldn't."

 **Forsake**

Feeling Enma shifting in his arms, Xanxus tightened his hold.

"Come on," Enma murmured. His voice was quiet and lacking any fight. "Tsuna and Dino are gonna be waiting for us."

"Cancel," Xanxus said. He pressed his nose against Enma's neck. "I don't want to see their fucking faces today."

Enma let out a satisfied little hum. "Even if we don't go today, they'll just reschedule for tomorrow."

"Fine, but I'm fucking comfortable and I don't want to deal with them today."

"Mmm...I need to grab my phone to call them."

Xanxus huffed. He pulled way, shoving Enma away from him harshly. "The one time I actually fucking want you around and you can't just lay still."

The redhead just laughed, rolling over to grab his phone from the nightstand.

 **Fortitude**

Enma was the one who had initially reached out, lacing his fingers through Xanxus', but he was starting to regret that decision as they drew closer to Timoteo.

Even without Xanxus squeezing his hand so hard it felt as though it was going to pop off, Enma knew how angry and nervous he was about what they were doing.

He rolled his lip between his teeth, wondering if it would be better to turn back.

Debating this, he stopped.

"What are you doing, trash?" Xanxus hissed.

Enma turned, keeping their hands clasped. He stared at Xanxus for a moment, not saying anything. Then he said, "Never mind. We don't have to talk to him."

"What? You've been on my ass about this for months and now that I finally agree, you-"

"This is about us," Enma interrupted. "But you clearly aren't ready to talk to him yet, so I'll wait."

Another silent moment passed. Then Xanxus let out a huff and his grip on Enma's hand loosened. "I'm fucking fine. Let's go talk to my trash father and then we can get out of here."

 **Game**

"You look incredibly stupid," Xanxus said, reaching forward and pulling the bill of Enma's hat down. He grinned as Enma squawked and tried to wave him away with one arm.

"It's not that bad," Enma objected.

"It's pretty bad. Makes you look even younger then you are."

Xanxus turned away from him, glancing around the field. There was something strangely suburban about seeing the people he was close to – friends was a term he didn't like to apply to them – dressed up for a friendly baseball game. Near the dugout on the opposite side of the field, Reborn had taken up residence with a grill. One of the girl's in Tsuna's family – Haru? Xanxus thought her name was something like that – was playing, but the rest were content to lounge in the shade near the coolers and food.

"Why are we even fucking here?" Xanxus questioned, turning his gaze back to Enma.

" _I'm_ here because it's Yamamoto's birthday and we always have a baseball game on his birthday. I'm not quite sure why _you're_ here."

Xanxus gave a non-committing shrug and looked away from Enma. "Everyone I know is out here so it's not like I had anything better to do."

 **Gestate**

Xanxus stopped when he entered Enma's office.

The redhead wasn't in his chair. Instead, he was curled up on the floor to the side of it. There was a small baby pressed against his chest, one of Enma's arms wrapped protectively against it.

"Ah..." Xanxus muttered as he stared. He remembered, vaguely, that Adelheid had been pregnant. But, his relationship with her was so rocky that he tended to tune Enma out when he started speaking about her and the pregnancy hadn't come up recently. He walked over, crouching down in front of the duo. "You must be the little twerp then?"

He stared for a minute before straightened back up.

He dropped the file in his hand on Enma's desk before strolling back out, picking his phone out of his pocket.

There wasn't any point in ruining Enma's time with his godson.

"Xanxus?" Tsuna said as he answered the phone.

"Yo, trash. Get your fucking siblings ready to go out."

"Eh? Why? I thought you were at Enma's?"

"He's busy." Xanxus was careful not to slam the door behind him as he left the office. "And I've got a sudden urge to spoil you fuckers so just do what your told."

* * *

 **E/n:** Hello! I'm back from Vacation! I apologize if these aren't as good/are out of character. It's only been a week but I found myself a bit rusty with these guys.

This fic has ended up being like 97% dialogue and I'm pretty sure that's not gonna stop.

Also: fav headcanon is that Xanxus is super attached to Tsuna's siblings when their older.


	12. Handle

**Angry Sky, Bright Earth**

* * *

 **Handle**

Xanxus wasn't stupid.

So, despite what people seem to think it doesn't take him nearly as long as people like to think to get a grip on this thing with Enma.

Sure, it takes nearly three years for him to be able to connect the words 'I love you' in his head. Sure, he'll never quite get round to using words like 'boyfriend' or 'partner'. Sure, they'll be together for decades and both of their ring fingers will stay decidedly bare.

But it's only a few months into it, into lunches whenever Enma's in town and near constant text messages and occasional phone calls when he's not, for Xanxus to grasp the fact that he doesn't ever want to let this boy slip from his fingers.

 **Harlequin**

"Phone," Enma choked out. His eyes were locked on his fingers, on the deep crimson blood staining them. "Give me a phone."

"Enma?" Adelheid questioned. Her voice was full of concern and he knew it was his fault. He didn't usually get this worked up about killing, had long surpassed the point of staring off in space in horror, but something about this job had crushed something inside of him. "Why? Do you need me to call Tsu-"

"Xanxus," Enma cut off. He heard her teeth click together, shutting her mouth a little too hard. "I need to talk to him."

"I don't think-"

"Here," Aoba interrupted. Out of the corner of his eye, Enma could see him shoving Adelheid out of the way and holding a phone out to him. "Go ahead."

He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as he took the phone. He tried desperately to ignore the way his fingers left red prints as he punched in the numbers.

He felt empty, cold, and unreal. The more time went on the less he felt like a person.

Xanxus would be able to take it away though. He would be able to turn Enma into a real person again, instead of just a doll used for killing.

 **Harrier**

 _'Vultures,'_ Tsuna had said, his grip tight on Enma's arm and fright in his eyes. _'I'm engaged to a man and half of them are still trying to marry their daughters to me.'_

The conversation had taken place years ago, at the first allies ball after Tsuna's inheritance, but the words were echoing in Enma's head as he stood trapped between Don Tartargua and his daughter.

He'd been trying for minutes to escape, but everytime the girl's arm would wrap around his upper arm and her father would launch into another story about some achievement of hers.

"Trash! The fuck are you doing?"

Enma let out a relieved sigh as he turned his head towards the voice. "Xanxus. When did you get here?"

"A few minutes ago." Xanxus' eyes leveled on the hand clutching Enma's arm. His gaze flickered to the girl and the intensity in them was enough for her hand to drop. "I stopped at the bar before coming to find you."

"Oh. Okay." Taking his chance, Enma stepped away from the Don. He tucked himself as close to Xanxus as he could get when the other was still holding his drink. "I'll be going then. It was nice speaking to you, Don Tartargua."

He led Xanxus away before the man could say anything else, but he could of sworn he heard him giving his daughter advice on how to step up her game.

A shiver shot down his spine and he reached out, grabbing Xanxus elbow. "I'm so glad you were here."

 **Hat**

"This is ridiculous," Enma said. Xanxus didn't answer. Instead, he hummed and leaned into Enma's touch as his hands combed through his hair. "It's like you've never combed it in your life."

Xanxus grunted. "Have you seen the decimo trash?"

A soft laugh left Enma's lips. He scratched his fingernails against Xanxus' scalp, smiling at the soft moan that left his lips. "Point proven. Yours definitely looks better then Tsuna's."

He felt hands come up, settling on his hips. "I'm feeling like we should talk less about him."

"Mmm." Enma pushed Xanxus' hair back and leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead. "I'm thinking you might be right."

 **Helmet**

"You know, I hate when you do this."

"It's not as though this happens particularly often. I'm good at my job."

"Just because you're not in the hospital often doesn't mean it gets any easier."

Silence settled between them.

Shifting in the hospital bed, Xanxus said, "Look, I'm fucking fine but I know you don't believe me and that you're probably in an airport right now. Let's just skip the bullshit where you pretend you aren't. How many hours?"

Enma was quiet for a moment before he sighed. "About three. Take a nap. I'll be there before you wake up."

"It's fucking unnecessary." Xanxus gripped the phone in his hand. "But I'll see you in a few hours, asshole."

* * *

 **E/n:** I think I mentioned this before I went on vacation, but I'm going to be doing every other day updates for this instead of every day because school is starting in a few weeks and I need to readjust.

One day I will write a chapter of this story without an all dialogue drabble like **Helmet**.

And finally, don't be afraid to drop a review guys! There's a lot of you and I like knowing what you guys think! Your favorite drabbles, your favorite things and such.


	13. Ignite

**Angry Sky, Bright Earth**

* * *

 **Hollow**

Xanxus leaned his head back until the back of it hit the top of his chair and let his eyes flutter shut.

He could feel the warm weight of Enma's thighs pressed against his own, the younger boy straddling him, and his heat from his fingers crawling up his stomach.

"What are you doing?" Xanxus muttered. His voice was slurred with exhaustion.

It'd been too long since he'd slept properly. Enma's touch was quickly sending him off, though.

"Just touching." Enma's fingers stopped their crawl. He placed his palm over Xanxus heart, his fingers sprawling out around it. "Am I not allowed?"

For a second, Xanxus considered telling him that he could touch all he wanted because it was thanks to Enma that there was anything to feel. It was Enma who had given him a reason to have a heart instead of closing it off again.

Instead, he said, "Do whatever you want, Trash."

Enma's voice was soft and affectionate when he answered, as though he had heard what Xanxus hadn't said, "That's what you always say."

 **Ice**

Enma pulled away from their kiss. He let out a soft sigh as he pressed their foreheads together.

"What's this all about?" Xanxus questioned. He pushed away from Enma and propped up on one elbow to watch him."You come straight in from a training session, jump me, and then you want to fucking cuddle?"

Enma stared at him, eyes darting along the lines of Xanxus face. He said, "Tsuna showed it to me while we were sparring."

"Showed you what?"

"The Zero Point Breakthrough."

Xanxus felt his whole body go rigid.

When he moved, it was one swift motion.

He moved so he had Enma caged under him, hands pressed down on the pillow and knees on the mattress.

"Why the fuck would you do that?" he demanded. He loomed over the redhead and let his eyes rake down him. He hadn't noticed any new marks on the boy's body when they had been fucking, but he hadn't known there was any reason to look then.

His feelings on the matter must have been apparent because Enma reached up, grabbing his face again. Xanxus tried to shake the touch off, but Enma refused to move.

There was a silent moment before Enma said, softly, "He didn't use it on me. He said there was a line and he wasn't willing to cross it with me, no matter how much I asked."

"But he did it with you in the room," Xanxus hissed. "You saw it?"

Enma nodded and Xanxus couldn't help the sharp, angry sound that left his mouth.

Enma said, "Don't be upset with Tsuna. I asked him to do it."

"You can't-" Xanxus cut himself. There were so many emotions bubbling inside of him that he was finding it hard to quench them down. He settled for telling the truth, just this once. "That's the one thing I can't have happen to you."

"It won't. Tsuna would never do it to me and your father is pretty much out of commission at this point." Enma's hands shifted, his thumb settling over the scars on his face. Xanxus allowed himself to lean into the touch as Enma swiped digit along them, his touch gentle. "But, Xanxus, I'm so sorry you went through that. I'm so sorry your father did that to you. No matter what you did, that was too far. That technique is-"

Xanxus shook his head.

Enma dutifully shut his mouth.

They didn't say any other words, instead Enma let his fingers dance along Xanxus body and trace over the scars that marred his skin.

He couldn't get rid of the mental or physical reminders of Xanxus' time under the effects of the Zero Point Breakthrough, but he could at least show him comfort in this way.

 **Ignite**

Timoteo watched his son from across the ballroom.

Xanxus was leaning against the wall on the side of the room. The redheaded boss of the Shimon was squatted down next to him with one arm dangling between his knees, whiskey clasped lightly in his grasp. They were looking at each other, a scowl on ones face and a smile on the others. They were focused completely on each other and whatever conversation they were holding.

The sight warmed Timoteo's heart while at the same time making it squeeze painfully.

It was clear that the boy had chipped away at Xanxus' exterior and wormed his way into his heart.

At the same time, there was a pain in knowing that it was his confession that had turned Xanxus bitter and his flames that had left the scars on Xanxus skin and his heart.

There was a pain in knowing a stranger was closer to his son then Timoteo ever would be again.

 **Illusion**

His memories of the time right after his discovery were clouded and sketchy. It was as though there had been a veil keeping him from being able to see properly.

He remembered wandering around the house without a purpose as anger, sadness, and betrayal bubbled in his stomach.

He remembered stumbling upon Enrico sneaking cookies from the kitchen up to his room, remembered seeing Massimo walking down to the labs with rolled up blueprints shoved into the pockets of his pants, remembered catching sight of Federico slipping out into the gardens with his headphones shoved into his ears.

He remembered passing his mother curled up on the couch with a book in her hand.

He remembered seeing all of it and thinking about the fact that none of it was real because this wasn't his.

These weren't his brothers.

This wasn't his stepmother.

His father wasn't his father.

 **Imprisonment**

The thing is, Xanxus hates how much he lets it affect him.

He hates feeling weak, hates how it fees like his father is still controlling his life.

He hates that he's staring at Tsunayoshi and the file in his hand, honestly considering turning down the mission because there's snow on the ground in England and he hasn't been able to deal with shaved ice much less _snow_.

"Hey," Tsuna said. His voice was soft, making an attempt to be comforting and Xanxus hated that more because this was not how he and Tsuna worked. They mouthed off to each other and pretended they didn't care. "I talked to Enma about it. He said he was gonna go out there too. You could go out to do the job and he'd meet up with you afterwards."

The knot in Xanxus' chest unwound a bit and Xanxus hated that too because he shouldn't fucking need the redheaded twerp to go to a cold country.

He reached forward, yanking the file from Tsuna's hands. He reached over after and slapped it against Tsuna's head, glad for the normalcy of the pained yelp Tsuna let out.

"Whatever, trash," Xanxus bit out, putting forth as much venom as he could manage. "It's not necessary but he can do whatever he wants."

* * *

 **E/n:** This one definitely has an unintended theme of being about Xanxus feelings about his time frozen. I enjoyed writing it though.

Esp Ice. I'm a little bit in love with that one.


	14. Isolation

**Angry Sky, Bright Earth**

* * *

 **Incarnate**

Enma didn't get angry often.

In fact, Enma didn't get angry at all.

So the fact that he was walking around Tsuna's office screaming had the Vongola Decimo on edge.

"He's such a fucking prick!" Enma swore. Tsuna couldn't help the way his eyebrows raised at the swear. "It's like he can't fathom the fact that he's human!"

"I'm pretty sure he's not," Tsuna said. He realized it was the wrong thing to say as soon as Enma rounded on him, but that didn't keep him from following up with, "I mean, he is a little inhuman."

"Not inhuman enough that he can't die!" Enma rounded on Tsuna. His anger was triggering his flames and the color licked up his eyes. "He's going to end up dead because he can't admit that he's not immortal!"

Tsuna knew that Enma was just worried about Xanxus and his recklessness.

So he leaned back in his chair and let Enma rage until he felt better.

 **Intact**

"It has been exactly a decade since we went out for pasta the first time."

Xanxus glanced up from his phone, looking at Enma who sat on the otherside of the table. He raised an eyebrow, "Were you expecting a gift or something?"

"I didn't even expect you to remember," Enma answered. There was a smile on his face and he was leaned on one hand. "After ten years, my expectations for you are not that high."

"After one day, your expectations for me were not that high," Xanxus answered. He looked around. "Is this the place?"

Enma let out a soft laugh and shook his head. "No. I think it's closed down now."

"Mmm." Xanxus set his phone on the table and focused on Enma. He stared for a long time before saying, "Why are you bringing it up then?"

"I thought it was something we should acknowledge, even if I know you don't give a shit."

Xanxus shrugged, "I don't have time to be paying attention to one date for the rest of our lives. It'd be a pain in the ass."

Enma blinked several times before his smile softened. "Ten years later and you're still surprising me."

 **Intrigue**

"Enma?"

He jerked at the sound of the voice and his gaze flew towards the door.

"Sabrina!" he exclaimed. He shoved Xanxus off him, having been pinned to the wall by the other man. "What are you doing here? I thought you were with your mom."

"Mommy got a phone call. She said to come play with you."

"Of course she did," Xanxus muttered. "The cockblocking little bi-"

"Stop." Enma shot him a look before crossing the room to pick Sabrina up. "I can't play right now, sweetheart. Xanxus isn't in town often, so I want to spend some time to with him. Do you want me to take you to your dad?"

Sabrina gave a thoughtful hum. Then she shook her head and wrapped her arms around Enma's neck. "I wanna play with you! Xanxus can play too as long as he promises not to drink my blood."

Enma glanced back at him, confusion written in his expression. Xanxus shrugged.

"Sabrina," Enma said after a moment, "why would Xanxus drink your blood?"

"Because he's a vampire!" Sabrina said. "That's why he was sucking on your neck before I came in, right? He was drinking your blood!"

There was a moment of silence before Enma's face flushed bright red and Xanxus burst out into loud laughter.

 **Isolation**

"I've never come up here with anyone."

Enma didn't look away from the window, watching the winding hills outside of it, as he said, "No one?"

"No one," Xanxus agreed. "I certainly don't come to see them with my fucking father and there's no one else I would come with."

"But you brought me."

"You showed me Mari's grave."

He shifted, turning to watch the other man in the car, "You don't have to take me to your brothers' graves just because I took you to my sister's."

"Shut up," Xanxus snapped. "I've never done anything in my life because other people did. I'm doing this because I want to."

 **Jelly**

"You know, your supposed to share things with the people you care about."

Xanxus snorted and pulled the bag in front of him closer to him, "No way."

"Just one?" Enma pleaded. He leaned across the table, reaching his hands out. "I promise I won't eat anymore."

"Nope." Xanxus reached into the bag, pulling out a large donut. Enma felt his mouth start watering. "You're the one who had breakfast with the decimo trash instead of staying in bed. Deal with the consequences."

"You won't give me one because I didn't stick around for morning sex?"

Xanxus made a non committing sound as he bit into the treat.

He grinned after he'd swallowed and licked sugar from his lips. "These are good. Too bad you already had breakfast."


	15. Knick-Knack

**Angry Sky, Bright Earth**

* * *

 **Journey**

"Wake up, trash. We're here."

Enma groaned, pressing himself closer to the surface he was using as a pillow. "I don't wanna get up."

"Then you're going to end up sleeping in the garage. I'm not fucking carrying you to the bedroom."

There was a moment before Enma answered, "That sounds like a really good idea." He pushed himself off the door, movements slowed by sleep, and turned towards Xanxus. He held his arms out, "Pick me up."

"I just said I wasn't going to carry you," Xanxus answered. He was leaned down, peering inside of the car while his arms were settled on top of the vehicle.

"Come on," Enma whined. He scooted across the seat until he could wrap his legs around Xanxus waist. "I'm tired and jet lagged and we have to meet with Tsuna tomorrow so I don't even get to sleep late."

There was a moment before Xanxus sighed. He bent down and gathered Enma in his arms. The redhead let out a soft, content sound as he adjusted his grip. He buried his head in Xanxus shoulder.

"If you're going to act like a fucking child, you could at least weigh the same as one," Xanxus swore as he straightened up.

Enma just hummed in contentment and tightened his arms around Xanxus neck.

 **Justice**

"You're leaving on a mission with Squalo tomorrow, right?" Enma questioned.

Xanxus raised an eyebrow. "You want to talk about this now? When you were grinding against my thigh ten seconds ago?"

"It's important and I've got plenty of practice at waiting for you to touch me." Enma bent down, pressed their lips together in a kiss that was much more chaste then the ones they'd been sharing moments before. "Tomorrow, right?"

"Yes," Xanxus answered. He moved his hand from Enma hip to the small of his back as Enma trailed his kisses down towards Xanxus collar. "You'll be gone by the time I get back."

"Mmm, that's what I thought." Enma's lips tickled against his skin as he spoke.

Xanxus was about to say something when Enma's teeth scraped against his skin and a moment later they bit down hard.

"What the fuck, you little shit?" Xanxus hissed as Enma pulled back. He could feel warm blood trickling out of the wound.

There was a vicious smile on Enma's face. His lips were stained red.

"Last time I had to leave early because of Adelheid," Enma said, "you left this giant mark on my neck. She wouldn't shut up about it. I thought I'd return the favor this time."

"By biting me?" Xanxus said.

"You like that more." Xanxus couldn't find the words to argue – whether because they were actually true or because Enma's hands were on his zipper now. "And now that that's done, let's get to the fun stuff. We won't be able to see each other for a while after this."

"You are such a prick," Xanxus said and tried not to think about how much affection was hidden in the words.

 **Knick-Knack**

"Xanxus."

He turned and froze when he saw who had called his name. He resisted the urge to run in the other direction. Instead he nodded at him, "Massimo."

It wasn't as though Xanxus disliked his brother. It was just that Massimo didn't seem to like him very much.

Federico had thrown himself into being Xanxus brother, dragging the new addition around the mansion and demanding he play games with him. Enrico hadn't had quite the same childish enthusiasm, but he'd help Xanxus and Federico sneak into the kitchen for more cookies and throw them over his shoulders while complaining that they'd been too loud while he was trying to do homework.

Massimo's presence had been rare and he hadn't made any attempts to get close to Xanxus. Instead he spent most of his time in his bedroom or in the labs.

"I have something for you."

Xanxus' eyes widened. He clutched the book in his hand closer to his chest, a story about samurai that he was hoping he could convince Federico to listen to at bedtime instead of his favorite cowboy book. "Really?"

"Yeah." He sighed, reaching up to rub at the back of his neck. "I know I haven't been around much since you started living here, but it's only because I was working on a school project. I got a little caught up in it."

"It's okay," Xanxus said.

There was a moment of silence before Massimo said, "Anyway, the thing I got you."

He reached into his pocket and then held his palm out towards Xanxus.

Resting against his skin was a small sculpture made of twisting silver metal. It was round with interweaving pieces cutting through for distinctive pieces.

"It's a shield knot," Massimo said. "Circular ones are usually for unity." He met Xanxus eyes, smiling softly. "We're brothers, all four of us. I'm sorry I wasn't around to tell you that before now."

 **Knock**

Tsuna let out a heavy sigh as he stepped into the training room. "Can't you two do this at your own homes?"

"That would be silly, Tsuna!" Enma called out. Although his chest was heaving and there was sweat sticking his tee-shirt to his chest, there was a bright smile on his face. "We'd destroy my whole house!"

Xanxus clicked his tongue and spat a mouthful of blood onto the floor. "Weak."

"Is this some weird flirting thing you two are taking up?" Tsuna questioned. He gestured around the room, at the dents in the wall and that craters on the floor. "Fighting each other until the house comes down or the two of you are dead."

"We can't kill each other," they echoed at the same time.

Tsuna's eyebrows flew up.

"Xanxus is too strong for me to be able to one up," Enma admitted.

Xanxus huffed and turned his gaze away from Enma. "The trash isn't a half bad fighter."

Tsuna stared at them, shocked by the compliment Xanxus had dished out. It wasn't like him to admit that someone was on par with him.

After a moment, he said, "I don't know if I'm more worried about the fact that you didn't deny that this was your way of flirting or that you just heavily implied you had been trying to kill each other."

 **Kindle**

"When did it start anyway?"

Enma looked over at Kaoru, an argument on the tip of his tongue, but stopped when he saw the look in his guardian's eyes. There wasn't any of the judgment Adelheid or Aoba laid out, nor any of the mischief that Julie carried.

He chewed his lip for a moment before saying, "I'm not quite sure."

"Really?"

"Mm." Enma gave a nod. "I know I've been closed lipped about it, but I think you've figured enough out yourselves to realize it's not really that conventional."

Kaoru made an assenting sound.

"Ah, but the first time we went somewhere together it was for pasta," Enma said. As he spoke, he realized there was a certain feeling attached to telling someone about his relationship – something both nostalgic and proud. He could see now why the people around him spoke so often of their love lives. "Tsuna had told me Xanxus only ate steak and drank wine when he was in town and I thought that was probably more red meat then a diet should have. So, even though we weren't then what we are now that's probably when it started."

Enma looked over and found that Kaoru had a small smile on his face.

"I think," he said, "that it's okay for you to be with him."

Enma couldn't help that his eyes widened. "Really? Because Adelheid-"

"Adel is just worried about you and a little jealous I think." Kaoru reached over, his hand resting on Enma's head. "But, you can be good for him and he's been good for you. So it's okay."


	16. Majestic

**Angry Sky, Bright Earth**

 **NOTE: KINSHIP AND LANGUISH (THE FIRST AND SECOND DRABBLES) ARE RELATED.**

* * *

 **Kinship**

"Well," Enma drawled, "this is new."

"Shut up," Xanxus grumbled, his voice heavy with sleep. He shifted, the motion sent Lambo sliding down his waist. "One of them got dumped."

Enma made a soft sound as he crouched down. He flickered his eyes across them. Tsuna was asleep next to Xanxus with Ipin tucked between the two of them. Futa was on Tsuna's otherside with a handful of chocolate wrappers tossed to his side.

"That sucks." Enma reached out, brushing his fingers along Xanxus forehead to move his bangs out of his eyes. He smiled a bit when the man leaned into the touch. "Do you want a rain check on lunch then?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. I'll see if Chrome or Yamamoto want to go out."

There was a moment of silence before Xanxus murmured, "My brothers and I used to do the pillow fort thing when one of them got dumped."

"Not when you did?"

"I never got dumped." Xanxus was quiet again. Enma was about to stand up, thinking he'd fallen back to sleep, when he spoke again. "The trash was so confused when he told him that I suggested it without thinking."

Enma pursed his lips. He didn't want to sound like a therapist, it was the quickest way to get Xanxus to shut down and stop sharing, but... "And how are you feeling?"

"Fine. It's different, but it's not...bad."

"Good." Enma let his hand slide from Xanxus' forehead to his shoulder. He squeezed tightly. "I'm glad."

 **Languish**

"Baby brother! Come join us."

Xanxus stared down at his brothers. Enrico and Federico were laid on a bed of throw pillows and blankets. Over them was a comforter he knew used to be Enrico's and Federico's pillows were under their heads.

"What are you doing," Xanxus questioned.

"Federico is nursing a broken heart," Enrico declared, and here Federico raised a tub of chocolate ice cream, "and I am contributing movies and pillow forts to his healing."

"Lilith turned you down?"

Federico nodded, "She said I was obnoxious."

Xanxus couldn't help the small laugh that left his throat. Enrico gave an impressed, "Big word for a middle schooler."

"I brought cookies from the kitchen." Xanxus looked up from the pile to find Massimo coming in the other doorway, a tin in his hands. "You joining Xanxus?"

He watched the three of them for a minute before sighing. "I suppose. But I don't want any pillow forts when I get my heart broken."

"You are much too cute to get your heartbroken," Massimo said.

"And I'm not?" Federico argued.

"You're cute too, baby brother," Enrico teased. He raised an arm and tugged on a strand of Federico's hair as Xanxus plopped down with them, "But like the girl said, you're a little obnoxious."

 **Larrikin**

"What the fuck is happening here."

"Bel-senpai doesn't think I can hit him," Fran said. He was holding one of Belphegor's knives between two fingers. Belphegor was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and one foot pressed against it. "I'm proving him wrong."

Xanxus stared at the two of them for a minute before saying, "You know what, this isn't my fucking problem. Clean the blood up before Lussuria or Squalo find it."

"Shishishi, there's not gonna be any blood Boss," Belphegor said. "Froggy's not gonna be able to hit me."

"I don't give a shit about the results of your weird fucking flirting," Xanxus answered. He continued on his way down the hallway, "If I come back and the trash is screaming, I'm ripping your fucking throats out."

Fran called, "Why do we have to deal with Commander and Lussuria?"

"Because you're the one making the fucking mess!" Xanxus snapped. "Now shut the fuck up, I've got places to be."

"Ah..." Fran let out a soft sound. "That's right. Master said something about Enma being in town. You must be going on a date."

Xanxus ignored him, deciding it would be more fun to leave the two of them to Squalo. They were more likely to get annoyed by Squalo then by him shooting a hole through them.

 **Majestic**

"He really is beautiful," Enma murmured. He was seated on the floor of Xanxus office with Bester lying across his lap. One of his hands was buried in the liger's fur. "Makes me a little jealous."

"Of what?" Xanxus questioned.

"You, obviously." Xanxus raised his eyes from his desk, shifting his attention to the boy on the floor. He watched as Enma scratched his nails against Bester's head, the animal purring as he shifted into the touch. "Tsuna's had Spanner and Shoichi try before, but my flames just don't work with box weapons. I don't usually think about it, especially since none of my guardians have them either, but seeing Bester makes me a little jealous."

Xanxus stared at him for a moment before clicking his tongue. "Why do you need one of your own? Bester's the strongest and you can already see him whenever you want."

Enma's gaze snapped away from Bester, focusing on Xanxus. There was a moment before a soft smile settled on his lips. "I can, can I?"

Xanxus just clicked his tongue again and looked away.

 **Manacles**

There were times when Enma felt so restricted by everything going on in his head.

He couldn't reach a hand out when he needed his friends, too scared that he would be bothering them. He couldn't open his mouth when he had something to say, too afraid that whatever came out would sound stupid and childish.

He knew it was a problem. He knew he had to get the anxiety under control if he was going to be a good boss, but it was so _hard_ to push down everything he was feeling and take a step forward.

Xanxus made it a little easier to take that step.

It wasn't like the anxiety magically went away when Xanxus was around, but the other man cared so little that it made Enma feel at ease.

Xanxus told him when he was bothering him, Xanxus cut him off with a click of his tongue and a sharp glare if Enma was talking too much, Xanxus didn't tiptoe around Enma like he was going to break.

* * *

 **E/n:** I AM REALLY REALLY SORRY IT'S TAKEN ME LIKE A WEEK TO FINISH THIS PART.

I was having a lot of trouble with the prompts and with not liking what I'd written and then I got caught up in getting ready for the school year to start even though thats still two weeks away and I can't even promise that the next chapter will actually come out in two days bc I am still getting ready for school and my college class is starting and I have to get my college applications ready and I am just really sorry if this series becomes super unpredictable in its updating.


	17. Metamorphosis

**Angry Sky, Bright Earth**

* * *

 **Memories**

Sometimes, it surprised Xanxus how much he was willing to share with Enma.

Things just seemed to slip out without him realizing it.

He told him about Federico's first kiss and how he'd furiously scrubbed at the lipstick left behind while Xanxus laughed at him so hard he'd tears in his eyes. He told him about Massimo leaning over his shoulder to point out mistakes in his math homework and how Xanxus would knock his shoulder up so Massimo bit his tongue if he got annoying. He told him about watching Enrico train with his flames and how he was always taking time to help Xanxus with his own.

Xanxus' brother's had been the most important people in his life before the truth came out and after their deaths he had guarded what he had left of them with all of his being.

And while he had never consciously made a decision to tell Enma about them, Xanxus found himself readily sharing that part of his life with Enma.

 **Mercurial**

"He's changed a lot."

Timoteo turned to see Ganauche. His lightning guardian had a small smile on his face as he stepped into place next to him. His eyes were fixated across the hall, watching Xanxus as Timoteo had been before his interruption.

Timoteo's gaze slid back to his son.

Xanxus was standing with Tsuna, Dino, and Enma. There was a satisfied smirk settled on his lips as he listened to the Cavallone boss talk, making wide sweeping gestures with his hands towards the ballroom floor. Tsuna looked exasperated while Enma had a similar look of amusement on his face.

He said, "He's grown up."

A laugh bubbled out of Ganauche. "It's a little strange to think of him as an adult. It's hard not to see him as the tiny twerp he used to be, always running around with Federico and causing trouble with the others." Timoteo could hear the affection in his voice. As the youngest of his guardians, Ganauche had always been more attached to Federico and Xanxus. The older ones had tended towards Massimo and Enrico who were more grown and responsible.

"I know," Timoteo answered. His chest tightened painfully as he thought about those days. As he thought about Federico and Xanxus hands interlocked, Enrico chasing after them with laughter on his lips, and Massimo teasing the youngest as they careened around a corner.

"He's made mistakes, but I think he's grown up well."

Timoteo nodded. "I think he has too."

 **Metamorphosis**

"I'm not going to change."

Enma didn't look away from his food, focused on winding pasta around his fork, as he answered, "I didn't expect you too."

"Everyone does."

"I don't think that's true. I think Dino wishes you were more self reliant and Tsuna wants you to be a little less angry. But neither of them expect you to actually change."

Xanxus watched him for a moment, turning Enma's words around in his mind. After a moment, he said, "And what do you want?"

"Nothing." Enma looked up at him, a soft look on his face. "I like the way you are. The person you are is the person I connected with."

 **Meticulous**

"I'm going to be late so move back our reservation."

Enma pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it for a moment. When he brought it back, he said, "You're actually telling me this?"

There was an annoyed grumble on the other end, the sound of shots. "Yeah, well, things got a little messy. I can't leave until the job's done."

Enma hummed, "This is very unusual. You typically just cancel on me."

There was a pause and the sound of a body hitting the floor. Then Xanxus answered, "You don't usually pick the best steakhouse in down for our dinners."

"Ah..." Enma grinned a bit, understanding dawning on him. "I should have known it was about the steak. I'll have the reservation moved to tomorrow. Don't worry about it."

 **Misguided**

"We need to talk," Julie murmured. He closed the door behind him as he entered his bedroom. "And you're not going to yell while we're having this conversation."

Adelheid raised an eyebrow, lowering the book in her hands. "What are we talking about?"

"Xanxus." He saw her tense and the look on her face which made it clear she was readying for a fight. "I just want to talk it out with you, Adel."

"There's nothing to talk about," Adel insisted. "He's bad news."

"No one is saying he's a good guy," Julie answered. "Just that he's good for Enma. I don't care if you continue your, frankly absurd, crusade to protect the boss's virtue or whatever, but Enma doesn't agree. So either we fix this notion of yours or the two of you are only going to grow farther apart. Enma might not want to lose you, but he won't lose Xanxus either."

* * *

 **E/N:** Okay, so I am so sorry I haven't updated in a few weeks! I got caught up in preparing for and starting school and just didn't have the time. Everything should be settled now though!

I'm not sure how often I'll be updating this story, but I'm going to aim for at least twice a week. Maybe more?


	18. Patient

**Angry Sky, Bright Earth**

* * *

 **Monde**

Xanxus, despite being a demanding person, didn't actually feel like there was much he needed in his life.

Sure, he liked steak and wine. Sure, he liked his sheets with ridiculous thread counts. Sure, he paid for clothing then some people paid in rent.

But, he didn't actually find any of this to be something he couldn't live without if it really came down to it.

There was really only one thing in his life that he didn't think he'd ever be able to get rid of and that was Enma.

If he was a little less vocal about his passion for him, it wasn't for any reason other then that he didn't feel the need to shout to the world where the center of his universe was and leave his weakness exposed.

 **Nightmares**

Xanxus was neither a talkative or a patient person.

That was why it meant so much to Enma that Xanxus always listened to him when he called after a nightmare.

Xanxus would grumble and complain about his sleep being interrupted, but ultimate he would settle into whatever role Enma needed him in.

Sometimes that meant he ended up talking until Enma fell asleep, sometimes he read to him.

Other times, he just sat and listened until Enma got everything out and his nerves weren't quite as shot.

 **Oracle**

"Do you think you and Xanxus will still be together in ten years?"

Enma glanced over at Tsuna, wondering what had brought the question on. The Vongola decimo wasn't looking at him. Instead, brown eyes were focused on his engagement ring as he spun it around his finger.

"Ah..." Enma turned his gaze back to the hallway in front of them. He shrugged. "I'm not sure."

"You're not?"

"I can't see the future, you know?" He smiled a bit as he added, "But I can tell you that I'll do everything in my power to make sure we are."

 **Paintings**

"So, Adel is out for your blood."

"I haven't been to your place in weeks."

"Nico started his English lessons this week-"

Xanxus cut Enma off, "You're teaching him a third language at the age of six?"

"You have no room to talk. You were fluent in six before you were sixteen." There was a small hum of acknowledgment from Xanxus. "Anyway, as I was saying before I was interrupted, his tutor had him draw and label a family tree so he could practice family words."

"And the trash is pissed off at me for this, why?"

"She's livid because Nico put you on it, next to me, and labeled you Uncle Xanxus."

 **Patient**

"Don Tortuga canceled our lunch," Enma said as he strolled towards Xanxus. The other man was leaned back in his chair, arms folded behind his head, with his eyes closed. He looked as though he had been sleeping through the whole of the alliance meeting, but Enma knew better. "Do you want to come with me or do you have plans?"

"Why would I have plans?" Xanxus' voice was lower then usual, a hint of grogginess portraying that his act had relaxed him more then he'd meant for it to.

"Every boss in the Vongola alliance is in town right now. I figured you might be making connections or something."

Xanxus made a soft hum. "Those old assholes hate me as much as I hate them. None of us would enjoy having lunch together."

"Mmm." Enma had reached the center of the room where Xanxus' chair. Tsuna's seat sat empty next to him. Enma set his palms on the arms of Xanxus' chair and leaned in close. Xanxus opened one eye, amusement settled in. Their lips brushed as he asked, "So, lunch?"

"Sure." Xanxus pushed forward so their lips pressed in a proper kiss. "Let's go."

* * *

 **E/n:** This is a little shorter then usual because I wrote most of it on paper. However, I am still immensely fond of **Patient**.


End file.
